Anybody else enjoy fixing lawn/garden equipment they find on the curb?

This is a made up statistic but I feel like a new carb fixes 90% of small engine problems. I don't go out of my way looking for these curb finds, but do enjoy fixing/tinkering with my own shite.

Growing up I had a friend that ran a paper route. I remember being amazed at what he’d scoop up on the morning following trash night beating the trash trucks.

I repair stuff around the clock but normally don’t find curbside lol.

I'm actually going pick up a free push mower from my brother today, it'll need a new carb and blade sharpened but will do just fine for a new camp mower. A neighbor threw out an old leaf blower a couple weeks back and now I regret not grabbing it when I had the chance to make a camp blower out of it.

Not lawn equipment but a neighbor tossed out a Blackstone grill because they didn't clean it so the griddle had some rust. I cleaned it, seasoned it, decided I didn't really need it, and sold it for $150.

Also had a neighbor throw out a John Deere Power Wheels when the battery went bad, put a $17 adapter to accept my drill batteries on it and now it rips.

I'm not above a roadside scoop and score.

Not really a curb find, but I still have a Stihl gas blower that fell out of a lawn trailer in front of me.
I stopped and grabbed it, then tried to catch up with him.
The guy was speeding so much, I never did.
I just brought it home and still use it 4 years later.

I am a boomer and did this for a long time. And yes, it was fun fixing things up. But....

One day I was having trouble with a gas chainsaw just back from the shop. I had to climb a ladder with the chain spinning to cut a branch. That's when I snapped... :)

I got home and unloaded every project from my garage. Chainsaws, and edger, pneumatic tools, etc. Listed on Craigslist for free! Then took a shower.

By the time I was drying off, the traffic in front of my house was intense. Passing along the projects to the next guy.

I still fix things to give to others, but have equipment that doesn't give me grief.

I picked up a Homelite chainsaw one of my neighbors had sat out on the curb. It had cobwebs on it. The primer bulb had disintegrated. But it had a new bar and chain. A $5 fix and now she's my little limb cutter.

Two different neighbors asked me if I knew someone who would come get a riding mower that hasn’t run for a couple of years and just haul them off. I know a guy who collects scrap metal. I would take stuff to him just to help him out.

In both cases I tried cleaning the carbs but noticed the fuel solenoid plunger was gummed up. Both mowers fired up and ran fine. I kept the one with the hydraulic transmission to just pull a utility trailer around the yard.